“What can I say about Mondrian, he’s just the man. As far as the grid and composition, obviously I’m working off of him and standing on the shoulders of giants.” —Leonardo Drew

Today’s ART21 Exclusive features artist Leonardo Drew as he reflects upon the influence of Piet Mondrian on his own work. “As different as my work looks, Mondrian is actually right in there,” says Drew, whose work is often built around the same gridded compositional structure that Mondrian innovated. Drew visits Mondrian’s grave in Cypress Hills Cemetery—which is nearby his Brooklyn studio—where visitors often leave paint tubes and other offerings. Drew and his artist friend Paul Pagk first found Mondrian’s grave in 2009 at a time when the cemetery did not realize Mondrian’s notability. After an article titled “Remembered at MoMA, Forgotten at the Cemetery” was published about Drew and Pagk’s discovery, the cemetery installed a sign at Mondrian’s grave identifying the artist as “notable.”

As a producer and director, Ian Forster creates documentary content for Art21’s various digital and broadcast programs. Since joining the organization in 2009, he has worked on four seasons of Art in the Twenty-First Century and the Peabody Award-winning film William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible. Additionally, he has overseen the digital series Extended Play since 2012, producing over 100 short artist portraits. Forster created the online video series Artist to Artist in 2013, which has since featured artists in conversation with their peers at international biennials in Italy, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.